Compton might not have changed much in the past two decades, but the bombastic rap music that the gang-plagued city southeast of Los Angeles gave rise to in the 1990s has taken on a brooding dimension thanks to Kendrick Lamar.

Soft-spoken but with a lot to say, the 25-year-old MC has done a lot to unravel the Compton gangsta rap mystique in his short career. His music is full of melodic, singsongy rhymes and vivid morality tales that meld the mundane with the menacing, like deceptively soothing stoner single Swimming Pools (Drank), about how a house party can become a gateway to blissful ignorance.

Last year he independently released Section.80, an album that hearkened back to the jazz-influenced, socially conscious hip-hop of the early 90s. It also landed him a joint deal with Interscope and fellow Compton native Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, which will release his first official studio album, good Kid, m.A.A.d City, on October 22.

So, what did the man behind pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A. see in him?

"I don't think Dre got to tell his story the way he wanted to tell it," Lamar says during a Toronto tour stop earlier this summer. "When you think of gangsta rap from the West Coast, you don't think of vulnerability. A lot of these gangsta rappers grew up the same way I did, but what was selling and what these corporate people wanted was gangsta rap - that's you being aggressive and not being on the other end of the stick.

"[In my music] you'll hear the aggressor, but at the same time you'll hear the victim."

Although Lamar is keeping album details close to his chest (including what the title's acronym stands for), he says it's a concept album similar to Section.80, but with punchier songs and ever more complex narratives. Lyrically, he tackles how seemingly innocuous experiences like going to high school or walking to the liquor store can turn violent in a place like Compton.

"The simple things that people don't appreciate any more are my best memories, because they have the most impact, whether positive or negative," he explains. "When I say, ‘Walking to the store,' it could be as innocent as getting a piece of candy - or it could be walking to the store and winding up with a bullet in your head. There lies that line and that's who I am. That's me. That's Kendrick Lamar."

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Interview Clips

Kendrick Lamar explains how 2pac and Nas have influenced his songwriting:

The press claims West Coast hip-hop is in need of a "rebirth." Is that true?

Kendrick Lamar explains what he's learned from working with Dr. Dre on Good kid, m.A.A.d City: